365,000 people hit by Sudan floods: UN

August 6, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Some 365,000 people have been hit by a month of flooding in Sudan, and the situation will only worsen as the rains continue, the United Nations humanitarian relief agency said on Monday.

“Well over 30,000 houses were fully destroyed. At least 365,000 people have already been directly affected, including a reported 64 dead and 335 injured,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

The UN’s death toll is lower than one issued last month by the Sudanese government, which said that around 100 people had been killed in the floods as of July 18.

Up to half a million people have received assistance from the UN and its partners in support of the Sudanese government, but more could be hit if the flooding continues, OCHA said.

“Although the floods came earlier than expected, the response has been swift and successful. We had contingency measures in place, and were able to prevent further distress to the population,” said David Gressly, the acting UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.

However, “if current flooding patterns continue unabated, the situation will deteriorate considerably,” he warned.

OCHA said it expects the rains to continue until at least mid-September.

Around half a million people have received water purification products in a bid to stem the risk of water-borne diseases, although at least 39 people are already known to have died in the east of the country from acute watery diarrhoea, it said.

Meanwhile, 200,000 people have received essential non-food items such as blankets, plastic sheeting to serve as shelter, jerry cans, cooking sets and sleeping mats, the agency said.

“We are working closely with the government to reach accurate estimates of the needs of those affected, and of the funding requirements,” said John Clarke, the UN official in charge of coordinating the response to the floods.

(AFP)